LGU sets aside fiesta revelries in view of Holy Week
By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, April 3 (PIA) -- Tanjay in Negros Oriental will trim down their fiesta celebration activities this year in view of the Holy Week celebration.
Tanjay City’s 11th Charter Day this year falls on the Holy Week period.
City Councilor Uldarico Ramirez, who chairs the charter day celebration this year, said they toned down their fiesta activities in respect to the Holy Week observation.
“We decided to set aside the usual revelries and focus only on the needed, traditional programs,” said Ramirez during a recent press conference held in Tanjay City.
The fiesta kicked off on April 1 with a Thanksgiving Mass followed by the State of the City Address (SOCA) from Tanjay City Mayor Lawrence Teves , and a civic parade around the city in the afternoon.
Ramirez said the celebration will resume on Easter Sunday, April 8, with an activity where Mayor Teves will give a toast to the students of Tanjay City who graduated this March.
A street party for the graduates in the evening of the same day, from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., will cap the fiesta celebration.
Six impersonators from the Raging Divas group in Manila have also been invited to stage a show in the evening of April 8.
The city government has earlier allocated P500,000 for this year’s fiesta activities.
This year’s theme is: “Resiliency and Transparency Towards Good Governance.” (RMN - PIA 7, Negros Oriental)
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Negrense renamed youth ambassador in Australia
By Jennifer C. Tilos
NNEGROS ORIENTAL, April 3 (PIA) -- For the second time, a proud Negrense and an alumnus of Silliman University was re-appointed recently as Brisbane International Student Ambassador this year.
Xavier Tilos Villagonzalo, 27, was appointed as Ambassador along with 27 other international students from 23 countries one year after he was first chosen by former Lord Mayor, now Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman.
The Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, who announced the new representatives this year at an official ceremony, said that Brisbane’s international student ambassador program is part of a wider strategy outlined in his Economic Development Plan 2012 – 2031, to deliver a first rate experience for international students and empower them to become strong advocates of the city and promote Brisbane to the world.
This year’s program includes students age between 22 and 42, from some of Brisbane’s largest source markets, including China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Croatia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.
They are studying a range of courses including business, nursing, engineering, journalism and medicine at educational institutions across Brisbane.
Quirk said “International education is our largest export industry and these keen, enthusiastic students are ideally placed to promote Brisbane as a leading international student destination in their home countries.”
“Many will return to their home cities where they may become leaders in industry and government in the future, creating strong, long-term global connections for Brisbane. They also enrich our cultural diversity and play a vital role in demonstrating how vibrant and multicultural Brisbane is,” said Quirk.
Villagonzalo, who was one of only five continuing ambassadors from the 2011 program, said in his first appointment last year, “It’s never a good excuse to mess up your life because you come from a broken family or you’re parents have passed away. All the more reasons that you need to twist the fate of your life to your advantage.”
Orphaned at an early age in Dumaguete, he struggled in life as his mother died in an accident involving a passenger jeepney which fell off the cliff of Bondo, Siaton in 1994, when he was at the age of 9, and his father died in diabetes complications.
A former youth volunteer of the Diocese of Dumaguete (Commission on Youth), Villagonzalo finished his Bachelor of Mass Communication degree in 2006 at Silliman with a YMCA Outstanding Student Award of Negros Oriental in the same year.
He also served as chairperson of the Silliman University Corps of Campus Ambassadors for two consecutive years 2004-2006.
As part of his role, he will be using a variety of tools to communicate his real life experiences, such as Facebook, Twitter, and regular blogs on their ambassador profiles at www.studybrisbane.com.
Some of the formal activities will include media interviews, official visiting delegations to Brisbane and hosting media familiarization tours.
At the same time, he is expected to graduate his Bachelor of Information Technology degree this year at Queensland University of Technology.
Deiter Dizon, an alumnus of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños joined Villagonzalo in the ambassadorial role last year but only the Negrense got the appointment this year.
The Chamber of Commerce & Industry Australia-Philippines supported the student ambassadors’ initiative, through the Filipino Students in Brisbane (an organization founded by Villagonzalo and Dizon), to help the victims of both Typhoon Sendong and the earthquake that hit the province of Negros Oriental.
Rev. Msgr. Julius Heruela sent Villagonzalo a message through Facebook saying, “We received the box with clothes and foot wears. Thank you so much for your concern and generosity to the victims of floods and earthquake. This will go a long way. May the Good Lord bless you and the Filipino students in Australia.” (mbcn/JCT/PIA-Negros Oriental)
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Filipino youth to help build houses in Iligan
DUMAGUETE CITY, April 3 (PIA) -- The Filipino youth delegation to the 38th Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) will participate in the house-building projects carried out by Gawad Kalinga in the typhoon-struck areas in Iligan City.
Dubbed as “Project Bayanihan,” the event will serve as the delegation’s post-program activity from April 9 to 14, said Adolf Aguilar, head of said Philippine delegation called PintigPinoy.
Aguilar is based in Dumaguete City working as the division information communication technology coordinator of the Department of Education provincial office. He was earlier picked by the National Youth Commission to lead the 29 young Filipino ambassadors during the SSEAYP cruise onboard MS Fuji Maru last year.
Aguilar said their group has partnered with Gawad Kalinga (GK) by providing the needed manpower.
“We will serve as a pool of volunteers for their annual house building activity called Bayani Challenge,” he said.
PintigPinoy will also serve as facilitators during the non-formal educational sessions in the GK village.
Aguilar said their group hopes to turn Project Bayanihan into a long-term and sustainable project.
“We intend to replicate the project in their respective regions in cooperation with other non-government organizations, local government units as well as the private sector,” he added.
‘Project Bayanihan’ is based on the unique Filipino culture called Bayanihan or the spirit of cooperation and sacrifice among Filipino families as they reach towards a common goal.
SSEAYP is a diplomatic and cultural exchange program among emerging youth leaders in Japan and Southeast Asia sponsored by the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan.
The program aims to promote and strengthen friendship and cultural understanding in the Japan-ASEAN region. (RMN/PIA7 Negros Oriental)
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20 Central Visayan students vie for Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines
DUMAGUETE CITY, April 3 (PIA) -- The Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP) Region 7 has released the 20 finalists from universities and colleges in Central Visayas who will vie for this year’s search for the TOSP.
The finalists taking up Math, Information and Technology and Sciences include Mark Anthony and Anthena Gene Duran, both from Silliman University; Joshua Eleazar Domen of St. Paul University-Dumaguete (SPUD); and Ronnell Padillo of Cebu Institute of Technology University; for nursing and medicine students, Felix Mosqueda of Negros Oriental State University; Angelica Dwayne Young Ricardo of SPUD; Ma. Shiril Armero, Southwestern University; and Ramon Matthew Basabe of Cebu Doctors University.
Wilma Elizabeth Rada of St. Theresa's College; Michael Angelo Abarcar, University of Southern Philippines-Foundation, both in business and accountancy; for engineering and maritime, Raymond Sesican, University of San Jose-Recoletos; Darwin Neil Morano of University of Cebu - Main Campus and Irish Mae Anoos, Cebu Institute of Technology University.
To complete the 20 students include Nesie Fe Binatero of Bohol Wisdom School; Kenneth Regene Blasco of Mater Dei College; Leslie Ann Estaniel, University of Cebu; Jurene Renoblas of University of the Visayas; Regina Clarina Elmaco of SPUD; and Simplicio Gadugdug of Holy Name University; Ionell Jay Terogo, University of San Jose-Recoletos, all taking up in humanities and teacher education.
These 20 students who will represent their respective institutions will undergo a transformation program from April 28 to May 2 in Dumaguete City, regional representative Rolando Villamero Jr., of TOSP7 said.
The formation week will be under a series of interviews and activities as part of the evaluation of the deserving students.
The TOSP is an annual search which recognizes the best and the brightest students in the provinces of Region VII who have excelled in academics, leadership, and social responsibility.
The top 20 regional finalists were chosen by a pool of screeners coming from various fields of specialization, said Villamero.
The search aims at establishing role models who will galvanize our young people into action and help bring about total human and economic development in the nation. (MBCN/JCT-PIA7 Negros Oriental)